We met our first night out in college freshman year. Our entire freshman year we were in the same friend group and would hang out every weekend, whether it was parties, movie nights, or going out to eat at “the spot.” We always seemed to be drawn to one another and once sophomore year came around we became official in October 2016. We have been through many life stages together. From living it up in our undergrad, to motivating each other through a tough 3 years of grad school, and now growing in our professional careers as we navigate traveling the country together. We can’t wait to be married soon and continue our loving and adventurous lives together!

We had just moved across the country to Oakland, California. Derek surprised Luci with a trip to Lake Tahoe for her birthday. Derek planned a hike for us to complete that was rated as “hard” and Derek thought to himself “eh it’s probably only hard for someone that’s out of shape.” We started the hike at about 7,000 ft elevation and quickly gasped for air as the trail ascended at what felt like a 100% incline. Luckily for Derek there was a beautiful look out point about a 1/2 mile into the hike. He thought if we went any further Luci would be sweaty and hangry. (Which he was probably right about). We climbed up on the boulders that overlooked Emerald Bay. Luci was taking a panoramic video of the breathtaking view and when she turned around Derek told her to take one more video. So Luci, thinking nothing of it, turned to take another video. This time when she turned around, Derek was kneeling down ready to propose. It was such an amazing surprise and instantly tears were shed as Luci said yes! We felt so lucky to get engaged in one of the most beautiful places and sealed the deal cheers-ing with Modelos!